Empowered
by Shadow-whispers
Summary: The Battle of New York was an awakening for the world but not every one was free to see this change. Cleo and Robin find themselves captured and tortured by Hydra for two years before rescue in the form of the Avengers. (Set after the events of 'The Winter Soldier' and contains comic canon references before major deviation. Also AoS spoilers!)
1. 0-8-4

**SPOILER WARNING AHEAD!**

**This Fic contains spoilers if you have not yet seen Captain America: The Winter Soldier or Marvel's Agents of SHIELD season 1!**

**The narrative is set after the events of the film.**

**Also contains references to Marvel comics, it is not necessary to read these as the story only uses them as a plot point and will then veer away from said comics.**

**You have been warned.**

* * *

**0-8-4**

* * *

Date: June 10th 2014

Location: CLASSIFIED

* * *

Days, Months, Years, Time seemed inconsequential in this place. There was no day or night. No windows into the outside world. Only concrete and steel. Blinding lights and total darkness. Even gravity held no meaning in this place.

Sometimes the cell would hiss, causing the air to shiver and consciousness to flee. The next waking moment would be in a clinical white room. Wrists restrained by thick metal clasps that were bolted to the cold table with only a thin dirty rag between skin and steel.

They would prod and poke. Take blood and give strange looking fluids directly into thinning veins. Struggling was useless. Even once free of the restraints the room would hiss with shivering darkness only to awaken in the cold cell.

The most terrifying of these tortures was, occasionally, waking in the Fish Bowl. Wrists bound to thick heavy chains bolted to the floor and slowly water bubbled up from tiny grates embedded in the floor. Chocking, freezing, coughing, spluttering, floating, bubbling, clawing, screaming, drowning. Until then darkness clouds the edge of the world the water would slowly recced to be replaced by the familiar hiss of darkness.

The only solace was the second cell, a tiny vent at the top of the adjoining wall allowed quiet conversation to stave off madness. At first they had whispered of escape and the life before the cold and the dark but as time stopped having any meaning, so did thoughts of escape or freedom.

Then one day, this day in fact, a sound erupted beyond the cells that had not been heard before. It sounded like growling, banging, howling, screaming, running, shouting, alarms blaring over and over. The White Coats ran around their computers, clicking, clacking, saving, erasing, hiding. Then the Suits ran in with guns raised and blazing.

Shouting, screaming, running, bang, bang, bang, clang! A large metal disc was suddenly embedded in the thick glass window looking into the cell. A tall figure ran into the observatory outside the cells. He spoke as if to his ear dressed in his stars and stripes and wings and mask. He wasn't a White Coat or a Suit so he couldn't be there. But he was.

He retrieved his disk of stars and stripes before shock rocked what could be seen of his features. Gloved hands pressed to the thick glass as if looking for an entrance but if there had been one escape would not have only been whispers.

"There are people in here!" He yelled to a room with only the prone White Coats and Suits to hear him, they would not help him, they helped no one. "Don't worry we're going to get you both out of here."

* * *

Date: May 4th 2012

Location: Las Vegas, Nevada

* * *

"And you're sure you don't mind me crashing at your place for a few days?" Cleo asked again as she leaned against her rental car in the pleasantly warm sunshine, she was pretty sure she had never been so tanned in her life and her skin only had a gentle golden glow.

"I said so didn't I?" Laughed the tinny female voice from the phone Cleo held to her ear while she adjusted her prescription sunglasses, it had been so sunny she had barely worn her regular glasses during her holiday in Vegas. "Plus if I changed my mind now your mum would throttle me, no matter how many oceans she would have to across."

"I'm glad you're so concerned for my welfare." She laughed as she clicked the central locking on the car and climbed in. "Okay, I am going to hang up as the road is calling and I'm sure you have lots of boring work things to do right now." The smile clearly rang in her voice as she bid good bye to the chuckling sound of her cousin on the line before she disconnected the call and plonked the device into the cup holder by the gearstick. The engine roared to life as she started back on the road.

Cleo was driving to her next holiday destination, having enjoyed the glittering lights of Las Vegas, Los Angeles to play tourist for a couple of days before she made the final leg of her road trip to San Francisco and the welcome, also free, hospitality of her cousin who had emigrated to the US a couple of years before.

The road seemed to stretch on forever with only the odd cactus whizzing by telling her that she was moving at all. The glistening sand dunes gave the landscape an endless feeling despite the savage beauty it held.

'One girl revolution' rang through the car speakers as she drove and quietly sang along to the familiar Super Chic lyrics. The window hummed quietly as she lowered the glass to allow cooler air in to circulate around the stuffy car interior.

She glanced down at the built in SatNav on the dashboard, the little screen showing what it had been for the three hours previous to her phone call, a small blinking dot on a seemingly endless line surrounded by nothing.

Her thick dyed red hair, only a couple of shades off Ariel, whipped around her face occasionally flying into her mouth making her wish she had thought to tie it up before getting back into the car. Her eyes flicked up to the rear view mirror and she caught a flash of her own reflection causing her to groan slightly. Her dark roots were starting to show and knew that it would irritate her until she managed to get it sorted.

When her eyes returned to focusing on the road ahead she was horrified to see a figure standing in the middle of the fast approaching tarmac and it was entirely possibly that she may have been going a little over the speed limit. Then he was suddenly directly in front of her and her mind raced into panic mode.

_'Oh God I'm gunna kill this guy!' 'Where the hell did he come from?' 'Is he wearing spandex?!'_ These thoughts flashed through her mind simultaneously before she managed to get her head into gear to swerve. Her white knuckle grip on the steering wheel tightened as she yanked the car to the right and straight towards a large dune. But even her attempt to avoid hitting the figure seemed pointless as he appeared directly in front of the car before it passed through him entirely and sped into sand.

Her eyes drew in and out of focus as her ears rang persistently and the air bag erupted from the steering wheel. She fumbled for the door handle before managing to pull herself out of the car. Cleo's legs faltered as she got out of the vehicle her legs buckling slightly beneath her. Frantically she looked around for the stranger she had tried to avoid expecting a body or at least someone calling for help. Hot fluid seeped into her eye before she noticed she was bleeding. Gingerly she felt her forehead until she came across the throbbing cut, not too big but still served to be distracting.

Then she saw him. A tall athletic build, blonde hair floated around his face and he was in fact wearing black and red spandex with a yellow star in the middle of his broad chest, half his face was masked but she could just focus enough to see they were a bright blue. His expression was difficult to read, mostly because of the mask, but he seemed angry which was understandable considering she had almost mowed him down. Cleo approached slowly, mostly hoping he wouldn't sue her, and as she drew closer it became more obvious that there was something different about him, aside from the really really random spandex.

"Erm… hi. Are you ok? Do you need an ambulance? I think I might." She spoke cautiously and the last was said a little quieter and mostly to herself. He said nothing. In fact he was eerily still. She noticed the missing rise and fall of breathing lungs and the fact his piercing gaze had not left her for a moment.

Alarm bells started going off in her mind that she had been attempting to ignore until that moment. She had been so sure that she had hit him full pelt with her car but here was standing straight, a little too straight, and not a scratch on him nor a tear in his spandex. Why was he wearing spandex?! Had he been on his way to an 80's convention or something?

Maybe she was hallucinating? She had gotten sunstroke while on the phone to Robin and she had passed out in the car. Maybe she had just imagined him when she swerved off the road and after she hit her head it made it worse. Neither seemed like a great option but nevertheless she slowly started to backtrack towards her car. The damage seemed minimal, maybe a little sand in the engine but she hoped it would still run. She was definitely no mechanic.

Suddenly he was directly in front of her gazing down intimidatingly. She yelped a little before stepping backwards and stumbling on something protruding from the sand. As she fell gracelessly to the ground her hand grazed the object that had caused her misstep. It was surprisingly cold to the touch despite the barren heat of the desert. Before she had even realised what was happening she felt the cold metal grasp her wrist and clamp down. Cleo looked down at her left arm to see that a golden cuff had somehow latched itself onto her wrist. Panic rocked through her as she looked up at Spandex-guy to see him nod once before disappearing. He bloody disappeared! She thought he might have said something before he went but her mind was too busy freaking out about his disappearing act to process it.

Sharp pinpricks then erupted across her skin before quickly evolving into pain that made every nerve in her body scream in agony. A pained cry tried to escape her lips but ended up only chocking in her burning throat. Thick salty tears welled up as her limbs began to spasm out of her control and into bone crunching positions. Her skin seemed too thin as vein after vein became more prominent and eventually hummed with power that glowed as brightly as it burned. Her blood was on fire and every haggard breath she took only added to her suffering. The blazing pain seemed to last forever before it eventually built so high that she felt it erupt within her and then golden energy engulfed her and everything in sight before she was finally blessed with unconsciousness.

* * *

Date: May 4th 2012

Location: San Francisco, California

* * *

Robin chuckled to herself as the call disconnected from her cousin. Cleo had been right, of course, she did have lots of work things to do but Robin thoroughly loved her job and the work she did. She was an exhibit designer for museums, firstly because she was passionate about design but also because she loved history especially ancient history. Her favourite subject was ancient Greece followed in a close second by ancient Egypt, the first of which she happened to be working upon at that time.

She tucked her mobile into her pocket before returning to the closed off exhibit that would soon be on show to the general public. Pulling out her design folder she carefully went over the final details of various sets. As she glanced over the various Greek garbed mannequins she noticed a box full of small trinkets that had yet to be placed into any of the sets. Printed on the side 'recent acquisitions' explained why she had not included them in her own designs but she did feel irritated that no one had thought to tell her about these new items that her bosses would no doubt want showcasing.

Calm determination pulsed through her as she approached the box. _'It's not like we open tomorrow.' _She thought with bitter sarcasm before she plucked the inventory list from the side. Her eyes scanned through the items as she mentally tried to think where she could include them and where they would refrain from overcrowding her designs. Slowly she sorted through busts and jewellery and pottery and plaques and a couple of small statuettes. Her small notepad was quickly pulled out before she scribbled down shorthand notes about each item and ideas of where she could put them.

A cursory glance at the box told her it was empty as she began to flip through her design folder and compare it with her note pad as she checked to see everything matched up. It took her ten minutes to make the required alterations to her notes and designs before she was happy that she would fit the majority of the new items into the exhibit without too much difficulty.

Carefully she started to return each item to the box so she could take them to the sets she had just assigned and as she did she thought the hours she had spent in England taking inventory for her first museum job. Back then she was a simple part timer that had only got the job because the curator was a friend on her uncle's, Cleo's father, and he had assured them that she would be an asset. She had been eighteen at the time, fresh out of college, and with little desire to attend university she had hoped to get on the career ladder the old fashioned way. Two years passed her by at the museum, seeing her become a full time employee who assisted with the design and upkeep of various exhibits. Until, and she wasn't exactly sure of the details, she received a job offer from a museum in America that had been impressed with her work. The offer had been a surprise but a totally welcome one, she had never ventured outside Europe before and had always wondered what life in America would be like. Robin had taken time to consider her answer, asking for the opinion of her family and friends, and to figure out if it would in fact be a financially viable.

After the studious consideration Robin eventually accepted the job offer and applied for her Green Card before she flew to California, where the museum resided. She smiled as she thought about the crappy cramped one bedroom flat she had rented when she first arrived in the US, hardly the glamorous digs she had expected after watching American SitComs as a teenager. Thankfully she had only lived there for a matter of months before a far nicer place presented itself and had turned into her current place of residence and home.

Hoisting the full box onto her hip with her folder in her other hand Robin visited each set she had marked an addition and carefully rearranged each item to the new design. It took her longer than she had hoped but eventually she managed to add the majority of the new items while still being happy with the overall balance of each altered set. Then after she had finished adding in the final item she noticed that in fact there was one piece she had not noticed when she had been going through the box. A quick glance at the inventory sheet told her that, no, it definitely was not supposed to be there. The small unassuming gold wrist cuff was clearly meant for the Egyptian exhibit that had finished the previous week. She wondered if the curator or another member of staff was playing a practical joke on her but she hadn't noticed any muffled laughter or hidden cameras. With a sigh she reached in to take it back to be properly processed.

After the briefest whisper of contact somehow the band was latched onto her right hand wrist and despite her best effort the damned thing had managed to shrink to almost skin tight and would not budge. A wave of nauseous dizziness overcame her as her body suddenly seemed so incredibly heavy. With a weak groan she reached out to steady herself using a cement pillar she was stood close to but when she gently leaned against it the plaster began to crack and she could hear it creak dangerously. Immediately she pulled away from the unstable support structure but the movement brought with it another wave of dizziness. Every muscle in her body ached as if she had been abusing herself on a treadmill for a week straight. Her limbs convulsed causing her to flop in a heap onto the floor making the ground shake as she landed. Thick cracks shot out in the marble floor beneath her and a fleeting thought crossed her mind, _'I am so fired',_ before the intense ache in her muscles became a burning pain. Robin tried to stand but each attempt only caused more pain to flare and craters to form in the marble under her hands. The gold band glowed bright and golden making it difficult to see anything clearly. Then the distinct sound of bone breaking and muscle ripping caught in her ringing ears before the inevitable backlash rippled through her. If she had been able to form a coherent thought _'how?'_ and _'why?'_ would have crossed her mind but she couldn't and they didn't. After a while she was sure that she would become numb to the pain but she was not that lucky, even as she felt it all building bringing forth new sharper pain all she wanted was for it to stop. For everything to stop.

She could feel the ground around her quake, the marble floor crumbled beneath her and then explosive energy pulsed through her bringing the numbing darkness she had craved.

* * *

Date: May 16th 2012

Location: CLASSIFIED

* * *

"Is the report ready? Peirce said he wanted an update ASAP." Agent Sitwell said as he strode into the lab without so much as a 'good morning'.

"It had only been a few days but so far the subjects seem very promising." Dr Colfer informed the agent as she stepped out from behind her desk, clipboard in hand, and gestured him forward. She glanced down at her notes and the sealed envelope containing her full report along with a USB full of various results and audio/visual evidence of the experiments performed, each file strictly top level encryption. Eventually they stopped in front of two identical steel reinforced concrete cells with specially armoured glass designed for intense strain, like super human abilities for example, as they had no idea for certain whet the subjects were capable of. They looked into the first cell, Colfer expected some kind of reaction from Sitwell but was only shown his impassive mask.

"Interesting." He said almost absently as he glanced at the charts beside her cell.

"A little more than interesting I'd say." Colfer scoffed defensively as she straightened her lab coat. "Subject 2319, Cleo Harris, female, Caucasian, source of the initial energy spike. Response team got to her within the hour, found unconscious in a pretty sizable crater-"

"As interesting as her life story is, Doctor, I would prefer the cliff notes and the files so I can get Peirce off my back." Sitwell interrupted before she could start telling him more time wasting trivial information.

"Very well," She said irritably before shuffling some of her notes "Source of the energy signature appears to be the gold band infused to the subject's wrist. Attempts to remove the band have proved unsuccessful and on one occasion lethal.

"The subject herself appears to have been altered physically to a molecular scale. Though her DNA appears to be mostly intact her organ tissues have been altered to work more efficiently than any I have before encountered.

"Moreover, the energy originating from the band has interwoven with her genetic makeup in such a way that seems to allow the subject to manipulate and absorb energy around her, hence the removal of all electrical devices and cables from her cell, and though we haven't determined how, as of yet, this may explain the physical discharge of energy." He glanced at her for a moment before she sighed and pointed at the subject. "The glowing."

"What about the levitation, do you know how she's doing that?" He asked with an inkling of genuine interest.

"Unfortunately, we have yet to determine this and it would seem that the subject herself has little to no control over her flight, she seems to float around aimlessly. At first she screamed and tried to grab onto anything that could hold her down but as you can see both cells are completely empty. Eventually she gave up and just floats around the cell.

"There may be more that we have yet to uncover about her abilities but these are our current findings." Colfer stated as she began to walk to the second cell with Sitwell at her heels. "Subject 2320, Robin Cousland, female, Caucasian, first cousin to subject 2319."

"They're related? I thought they were separate incidents?!" He asked becoming seemingly more interested the more that he learned.

"They were isolated incidents, or at least appeared to be, the second energy spike occurred twelve minutes forty-three seconds after the first. We have yet to identify how and why these specific individuals were affected.

"As you can see the subject has a similar band on her wrist, again the source of the energy, however the effects of the energy seem to be different. When we first acquired the subjects they were placed in regulation holding cells to be processed. Subject 2320 broke a hole through the holding cell on her first confused attempt, once she was recaptured both subjects were moved to these holding cells, these are the strongest cells we have in this facility and you can see the damage she has done. Most of it seems to have been incidental, as was her initial escape, but you can easily see the cracks and craters in the walls. She has been gassed three times to allow us in to make repairs since her arrival.

"As far as we can tell, the energy from the band altered her molecular makeup, her strength has increased dramatically since she had been here and the increase has only recently begun to slow. It's possible she may be ten times stronger before the energy eventually levels out in her system.

"And physically her muscles and bones have been restructured, stronger than anything I have seen, most attempts to take samples via syringes have failed because they couldn't penetrate the skin!" Colfer then realised that she had started to get a little over excited, so she paused and cleared her throat to regain some of her composure. "Anyway, I have placed a request to begin more invasive procedures and to run tests to find the limits of their endurance. Hopefully find some more strengths and weakness, see if we can extrapolate the energy and replicate its effects." She said a little more calmly as she handed the suit the envelope.

"I am sure SHEILD will be very pleased with your work." Sitwell affirmed as he took the envelope and tucked it away in his briefcase. Then he extended his hand towards her to conclude their business, as she clasped his hand to shake it he leaned forward slightly and spoke so lowly she wouldn't have heard him had she been breathing too loudly. "Hail Hydra."

* * *

Date: June 10th 2014

Location: CLASSIFIED

* * *

He couldn't find a release, no button or latch that would allow him access to the shadowed figures locked away for God knows how long. Eventually frustration wound through him as he turned away from the glass. There had to be some way into the cells or else they couldn't be in there in the first place.

After what seemed like forever he heard the mechanical footsteps that always preceded a headache. Stark sauntered into the room, his helmet open showing his signature casual smirk, once he realised what was in the room his playful superhero routine dissolved into someone actually helpful.

"JARVIS, you done with the data mine?" He asked the air as he quickly approached the glass, assessing how it worked.

"_Yes sir already sent to your private server._" An English sounding voice responded though neither man had spoken.

"Good, can you see a way into these cells, I think these people have been here long eno- woah is she floating? Yup and there is definite glowing going on too." The metal man stood in front of the first cell and watched as the woman confined within flew from one space to another. "Who are these people?" He asked quietly.

"_Subjects 2319 and 2320. Results show they are also Cleo Harris and Robin Cousland, both missing persons and then declared dead two years ago._" The disembodied voice answered automatically.

"Cleo, Robin, don't worry. We'll have you out of there real soon." Steve Rogers told them in a gentle tone.

"_Immediate release is not recommended._" The voice chimed in.

* * *

**ALL MARVEL CHARACTERS IN THIS FIC BELONG TO, SURPRISE SUPRISE, MARVEL! ALL RIGHTS REMAIN PROPERTY OF MARVEL. **

**THE PLOT AND OCs (CLEO HARRIS AND ROBIN COUSLAND) BELONG TO ME. **

**EVERYTHING ELSE IS DONE FOR NON PROFIT AND THE AMUSEMENT OF FANS.**

**ALSO ANY REFERENCES MADE BELONG TO WHOEVER OWNS THE RIGHTS.**


	2. The Tower

**The Tower**

* * *

Date: June 10th 2014

Location: CLASSIFIED

* * *

"JARVIS, would you elaborate before the Capsicle here takes a leaf outa the Hulk's book." The man she had dubbed 'Robo-Cop' said as he glanced over at the man in stars and stripes, 'Spangles'.

Cleo didn't understand how they could be there. The White Coats and Suits were sprawled across the floor. There was no hissing darkness. Only the familiarity of strangers looking in on her every move. As she floated aimlessly across her cell, as she had for however long she had been incarcerated, her gaze locked onto Robo-Cop. He seemed vaguely familiar somehow, like she had seen him before in a distant memory or dream. Definitely not someone she had known in her life before, at least not personally, but his face seemed to catch in her mind. Recently she had begun to wonder if her life before the cell was only a half remembered dream and as she tried to recall who he was she wished she had tried harder to hold onto it.

'_Iron Man!' _She thought suddenly as the word popped into her mind after being so long buried. Surely she was dreaming or her mind had finally broken for her to think some American superhero had found his way into her corner of hell.

"That's right, Iron Man here to save the day!" He said flashing her a bright grin causing Cleo to startle slightly. She must have said the words out loud but the real oddity was that he acknowledged her words! It had been so long! In the beginning, a long time ago, she had screamed and shouted at the White Coats but they barely even looked at her, except in the moments when the hissing darkness would begin. "Anytime now would be great." He continued as his helmet shut tight.

"_Accessing files now sir._" The disembodied voice replied causing Cleo to wonder if he was talking into a radio. Her attention then turned to Spangles who she could just see crouching in front of the cell beside her own. It hadn't taken Cleo long, after the initial capture, to figure out who resided in the cell next door. Though in the duration of their imprisonment she had not seen Robin the small ventilation grate at the top of their adjoining wall had allowed them some amount of communication.

"Er… hey Cap, you mind coming over here for a sec?" Iron Man's posture had changed, he stood ramrod straight and there was a twinge in his voice that Cleo couldn't identify. After a moment Spangles stood up and joined IronMan before asking him what the problem was. Both lowered their voices stopping her from listening in to what they were saying and she hoped whatever they were talking about would resolve with the immediate release of Robin and herself.

* * *

"What's the problem Stark?" Steve asked, he had immediately noticed the change Tony had gone through in mere moments and wondered what he could have found out that would cause him distress. Because that was what the twinge in his voice had been, an unconscious tightening of the throat because something he didn't want to think about had been thrust into his mind. Steve recognised it because ever since waking up in the future his mind had circled mourning his past and attempting to reconcile with his future. Then after everything that had happened with Bucky… he wasn't sure how he was supposed to keep the two separate.

"JARVIS just pulled up everything we got from the computers before they were wiped." He started slowly in a quiet tone unsure if he wanted the subjects of their upcoming conversation to hear them. "The day these girls got these superpowers, got kidnapped by Evil-SHEILD…" He paused as if summoning the will to complete his sentence, almost as if it were painful "It was May 6th 2012." And Steve immediately knew the relevance.

"The Battle of New York." Steve murmured though his words seemed hollow and unneeded.

"Exactly." The Genius, Billionaire, Playboy, Philanthropist affirmed. "According to these files the running theory was that the, frankly tasteless, gold bands are some kind of alien weaponry that activated within minutes of the portal-" He took a moment to breathe deeply before he had centred himself enough to continue, Steve said nothing and waited for Tony to compose himself. "-Within minutes of the portal opening and letting in the Chitauri. They were pretty sure that whoever made this overpowered bracelets did not have humans in mind when they were designing them."

"What's your point?" Steve asked a little shortly while attempting to keep his voice low. These girls were probably terrified and he didn't want to escalate anything anymore than they already were.

"My point, Captain Obvious, is that these women have volatile alien technology irreversibly attached to them and absolutely no control of the powers that come with. That about sum it up?!"

"So what, you just want to leave them here, is that it? Nothing that has happen to them is their fault, they are innocent civilians!" The Captain fumed as he glanced over at the women who had clearly been subject to abuse and experimentation for over two years.

"No, as a man with experience in an Afghan cave, I don't recommend captivity as a fun pastime. Just, listen, these files make references to GH. I don't know what that means, JARVIS, doesn't know what that means. When we hacked the Helicarrier two years ago Hydra's secrets were so well encrypted we didn't even know they were there. This GH, the encryption is so far beyond I'm surprised we managed to get the initials."

"How, then, do you suggest we proceed?"

"With the safest course of action. As much as I would love to, we can't just release them into the wild, it wouldn't be safe for anyone. So we do the only thing we can do." He paused as if for dramatic effect and then said loud enough for all to hear. "We take them to the Avengers Tower."

* * *

Date: April 8th 2014

Location: New York City, New York

* * *

"I present to you the all new Avengers Tower!" Tony Stark said grandly to Bruce Banner and, first timer, Steve Rogers. He seemed terribly proud of his new fully functional energy efficient building that made the original pale in comparison.

"It's Stark Tower." Steve grumbled as he adjusted his duffel bag over his shoulder that contained everything he owned that wasn't ruined after the Winter Soldier incident.

"No, that was blown up. This is the Avengers Tower. It's completely different!" Tony defended as they walked up to the large glass doors and passed a flock of screaming cosplayers. Steve tried not to stare open mouthed at the teens dressed in skimpy replicas of his, Tony's and Thor's battle attire. Though he did think the little girl in a tutu version of his uniform was kind of sweet.

"It looks like the same ugly building it was two years ago." He replied echoing his opinion of the previous building, earning himself a disapproving frown from Tony and a small amused smile from Banner. The trio continued through the doors, the fangirls staying outside thanks to the security on the entrances, and into the large modern lobby. Steve noticed a familiar face talking to the receptionist but the dark haired ex-agent either didn't see him or, more likely, was maintaining a new cover she had created herself.

"Nope. After all the holes were patched up the top levels got a complete redesign. Avengers Training Area, Quinjet hanger and fully furnished apartments, with Jacuzzis and R&amp;D labs!" The mechanic listed as they made their way into a large private elevator that scanned, recognised and identified the three men before the doors closed silently and the elevator started to move.

"I hope the Jacuzzis aren't in the R&amp;D labs." Bruce joked, finally managing to get a word in between the, now expected, banter between Iron Man and Captain America. Steve chuckled to himself as they climbed higher up the tower.

"Why? water and electricity are friends." Tony said almost innocently save for the wide grin that spread across his well groomed features.

"Stark…" Steve warned, already dreading the prospect of spending the next few minutes with the man let alone living in close quarters.

"Look, Hydra blew up your apartment, stay here until you're back on your feet and have a place to stay sans bullet holes." Mr. logic took Stark over for a moment as the elevator began to slow and a star spangled shield insignia replaced the floor number on the floor level screen.

"… The apartments aren't bugged are they?" Steve asked warily as a ping rang through the air and the doors slid soundlessly open.

"Only JARVIS." Stark shrugged as if it were obvious, which it was as JARVIS was installed in practically all of his systems, and then ushered Rogers out of the elevator.

"_You may deactivate my systems, within your living quarters, but should anyone have need of you I would reinitiate myself to inform you of anything important_." The familiar English voice informed them as Steve looked around the apartment Tony had designed and realised with a start it likely encompassed the whole floor with devices he would have no idea how to use.

"Why so edgy? Afraid I'll catch you on your favourite vintage porn site?" Said billionaire sniped with a raised eyebrow, he was looking forward to getting to know the guy his father admired so much and to tease him for everything he was worth.

"Stark…" He warned again but this time with less bite, he was used to the digs at his lack of sexual experience from both Natasha and the Howling Commandos back in the day, but he had only just started to settle and now everything was different again.

"Hey, I kid! … unless, do you go for that sort of thing?" Tony held up his hands in joking defeat before he noticed the hesitation in Steve and grasped the elevator door to stop it from closing before he got a couple more jokes in.

"Tony, didn't you have a new suit you wanted me to take a look at?" Bruce interrupted, he too had noticed Steve's discomfort and decided it best to distract Tony. That and he was also curious about an Iron Man suit the Tony would want _his_ opinion on.

"Oh, yeah. It's gonna be awesome, I need you to look over the specs, but I've already thought of a name. The Hulk-Buster!" Seemingly instantly forgetting to continue the banter-fest the mechanic in him reared his head and the big kid in him delighted in showing off his new toy.

"… That sounds great Tony…" Bruce said a little hesitantly as the doors finally slid shut and Steve was left alone in his new gigantic apartment.

* * *

Date: June 10th 2014

Location: New York City, New York

* * *

The hissing darkness had come back. Briefly, Robin wondered if she had dreamed up her rescuers. If it had been an elaborate test cooked up by the White Coats and the Suits to see what they would do. She hoped that when she woke, if it had all been a dream or test, that she would not find herself in the Fish Bowl. Anything else they had been subjected to would be a blessing in comparison to the terrifying burning sensation of water filling her lungs and no matter how hard she tried she could never free herself of the chains that bound her.

Slowly, she could feel consciousness crawling back to her. Here was no cold biting restraints, probably not the Fish Bowl then, and no prodding or poking, so not the White Room. Instead she felt… comfortable? Pale light filtered into the room, as if a curtain had not quite been closed properly, but that made no sense there were never windows and certainly no curtains. Low murmuring voices next caught her attention, not too far away and not divided by the glass wall otherwise their voices would have been muffled.

Experimentally she opened her eyes slightly and after a moment couldn't help but open them fully until they were wide in shock. She was not in her cell or the White Room or the Fish Bowl or anywhere else that had appeared after she awoke from forced sleep. The comfort suddenly made sense, she was laying on top a bed, a bed! The sheets were thick and soft, in rich gold and deep reds. As her eyes wandered the room, clearly a room fit for royalty, she noticed a particular theme. At first the red and gold had made her wonder if the designer had been going for Gryffindor chic but then she noticed the carved column and the veil of gossamer instead of a door, leading out of the room she sat in, it all felt decidedly Norse.

Ever so gently she sat up and slipped off the bed. Robin knew the strength that coursed through her and was terrified a single touch would destroy the beautiful room. The smooth marble floor was cool on her bare feet and she noticed she was still in the tatty rags she had worn for… she didn't know how long. Then as she got closer she noted that the carved pillar was not marble, as it was no doubt supposed to look, but well painted plaster. A grain of knowledge from her old life identified the difference.

She refrained from touching the fake marble and continued towards the gossamer divide. As Robin padded closer the voices became decidedly clearer.

"- meaning it was some sort of security procedure that JARVIS couldn't override."

"So when we forced the door-"

"Yeah, the gas was automatically vented into the cells. Probably put in to stop any escape attempts. Pretty effective."

"Is it harmful?"

"Not as far as I can tell, I looked over it and it seems to be a very strong sleep inducing chemical. If it were to be used on the average person the kind of doses used would have been lethal. However, it's clear the gas was used multiple times and to no ill effects. As far as I can tell they are both very healthy but it's not really-"

"What? Not your area of expertise?"

"Tony, I said I was sorry about that."

"Who said what? I don't know what you're talking about."

"Tony…"

"What? I didn't do anything Pep-"

"Enough. Now that they're here what is it you plan to do with these, probably very, traumatised girls?"

"The only thing we can do, help them."

"They've been declared dead for two years now. Everything they had before is probably long gone."

"What about family, friends, surely they have someone?"

"They did, in England, but I don't think it would be a good idea to ship them off just yet."

"You can't force them to stay…"

"No, I wouldn't but you have to remember their families have had time to mourn and accept their passing. Dropping them home with uncontrolled superpowers seems like a bad move. That's just my opinion."

Quietly Robin backtracked away from the four people talking behind the curtain. Two years? It had seemed so much longer than that and at the same time she couldn't believe how time had blurred together.

These were clearly the people who had released her from her cell but could she really trust them? They seemed genuine enough talking amongst themselves but how could she bring herself to trust? Then her thoughts turned to Cleo, where was she? Her only companion through the whole ordeal and know she was alone in a strange place with strange people. As the panic started to rise she continued to backtrack until she felt the carved pillar at her back. Her fingers grasped the plaster as she tried to centre herself but instead she heard the creak of the pillar as it started to lean to the side and felt the plaster crumble beneath her fingers. Memories of the day the band attached itself flooded into her mind as the marble beneath her cracked.

Then strong, but gentle, hands grasped her arms and automatically she pushed them away. But she did not watch him fly across the room or hear him crash into a wall. In fact she had only managed to push him away a few feet which was a surprise to him as much as it was to her. Slowly he approached again, like she was a cornered animal, he told her she was safe and that no one would hurt her here. Robin was dumbfounded, was he like her, to be able to withstand her strength as no one had done before. She knew that none of them could hurt her, the White Coats had tried and the only pain she had felt was when she was in the Fish Bowl, but did that also mean that she could not hurt them in return? Were they strong like her? Different like her?

"Where is Cleo? Where is my cousin?!" she finally asked, though it felt strange to speak to anyone aside from Cleo through a vent.

"The glow stick? She's asleep in the other room." The man, with an oddly trimmed beard and iron maiden shirt, told her as he stepped a little closer only to be held back a little by a slender woman with strawberry blonde hair.

"Kinda not asleep and kinda about to float out the window!" A familiar voice called from outside the room. After only a moment's pause the group rushed out in time to see that she was indeed about to float out of the, beautifully decorated, bay window. Once she was quickly retrieved from the window she was escorted to the couch by the woman as the quiet man shut the window. Robin sat down carefully, not wanting to break anything, while Cleo drifted just above the sofa but was unable to get low enough to sit.

"Think we should invest in some kind of tether, with a weight on the end. Or maybe some kind of magnetised-" The chatty man said as his eyes lit up at the thoughts, clearly, whizzing around his well styled head.

"Tony, not now." The woman, dressed very smartly in comparison to the three men, interrupted before she faced the girls and gave them both a gentle smile. "I can't begin to imagine the things that you two have gone through, honestly I don't think I would want to, but please believe that we want to help you. If you will let us."

"I'm sorry about the pillar." Robin said after a moment's pause, causing 'Tony' to chuckle at the thought that accidental damage was unusual and worth apologising for.

"So, we're not swapping one prison for another, better furnished, prison?" Cleo asked as Robin reached up, caught her by the ankle and pulled her down to sit on the couch, her hand remaining on Cleo's shoulder so she would stay put.

"No, definitely not." The blonde muscled man told them resolutely, he was the strong one, the one Robin was sure knew strength like hers. "Though, we may have to fill in a few details, so that everything that happens from here on out makes sense to you both."

"Yeah, number one, don't piss off that guy!" Tony gestured to the quiet, unassuming, man stood a little ways behind him. Then the woman, who Robin was starting to like, elbowed him non too subtly in the side. "Hey!"

* * *

Date: June 11th 2014

Location: New York City, New York

* * *

It was either very late or very early, Cleo couldn't see a clock in the vicinity and her internal clock had been messed up since the day her least favourite fashion accessory latched itself on to her arm. Though the idea of super powers had once been a fun topic of conversation amongst friends, the aimless floating and glowing abilities of a firefly had never been in her top ten. Then again, uncontrolled super strength had probably never been in Robin's either. However, it turned out that those were the powers they seemed to possess and not only did these people understand their struggles but such things were now, apparently, everyday common knowledge. Last she had checked those kinds of things only existed in comic books and films but the Avengers, the people that were sat beside her, were part of the reason super humans had been 'outed'.

As she listened to the cliff notes of these, the only appropriate term she could think of, superheroes 'origin stories' she felt in some ways she could identify with them. The skinny kid who was given strength to stand up to his bullies, the mild mannered scientist whose experiment lead to uncontrollable abilities, the personification of 'boys and their toys' who was pushed by captivity to be creative. Then there were the ones they hadn't met, the super-secret spies codenamed after bugs and birds, oh and then there were the gods, Gods! Aliens! It seemed like everything existed and they missed the grand unveiling. She wasn't sure how she was supposed to feel about it. She certainly couldn't identify the swell of emotions that swirled inside her as they informed the girls about what they had missed. Cleo's gaze flicked over to Robin, whose hand was still firmly planted on her shoulder keeping her seated on the couch, and read the emotions that flicked over her open features. Her cousin had never been able to hide her feelings well and so never tried. Anger, confusion, disbelief were but a few that flitted across her face. Neither had said much in response to the tag-team retelling of 'the Battle of New York' as it had apparently been dubbed. Though Cleo did notice that the longer they listened to these people talk the tighter her cousin's grip became, and considering the girl had ridiculously strong fingers, it seemed like a good idea for everyone to finish for the night and get some rest.

After a little encouragement from varying parties the girls were eventually left alone in, as it turned out, Thor's apartment as the 'God' was in Asgard. She wasn't sure how much of the stuff they were told was true or whether these people were seeing how gullible the girls were after incarceration. The latter seemed unlikely.

Robin released Cleo's shoulder once the others had left, allowing her to drift around the room freely. Robin reclined on the couch, unused to but certainly not complaining about the comfort, and the girls simply talked until the morning came. Besides, it wasn't like either of them slept naturally anymore. Another side effect of their matching super bands.

* * *

**ALL MARVEL CHARACTERS IN THIS FIC BELONG TO, SURPRISE SUPRISE, MARVEL! ALL RIGHTS REMAIN PROPERTY OF MARVEL. **

**THE PLOT AND OCs (CLEO HARRIS AND ROBIN COUSLAND) BELONG TO ME. **

**EVERYTHING ELSE IS DONE FOR NON PROFIT AND THE AMUSEMENT OF FANS.**

**ALSO ANY REFERENCES MADE BELONG TO WHOEVER OWNS THE RIGHTS.**


	3. Small steps

**Small steps  
**

* * *

Date: June 27th 2014

Location: Avengers Tower, New York

* * *

It had been over two weeks since the girls had been released from their incarceration. Neither had left the Avengers tower in that time, firstly because the Avengers thought it best to ease them back into normal life, secondly –most importantly- it was the fact that the girls didn't think they could. They both knew they were no longer prisoners, that was not the issue, the problem was that their abilities were not subtle. Cleo had to be aware of open windows in fear that she might float away and the thought of going outside, where the big open sky was, seemed to terrify her. Robin wanted nothing to do with large masses of people that she could crush with the slightest touch. In fact she was reluctant to touch anything in case she shattered it accidently. Even simple tasks like turning on a light, using cutlery, putting on clothes, took careful concentration and time. After 'the shower incident' she found that she relied heavily on JARVIS and vocal commands to do things most people never thought about. Though she found the hologram technology she was given access to, allowed her to do some things without help.

The Avengers themselves were very rarely in the tower at the same time or at least busy doing things that Robin thought too important for her to interrupt. Steve Rogers and Sam Wilson would often be away raiding Hydra bases in search of '_a lost friend_' and would sometimes be assisted by Tony Stark or Natasha '_the less you know the better_'. When not helping Steve Tony would be in his workshop listening to music, tinkering with his suits or bantering with his robots and JARVIS. Sometimes Pepper would force him out of his '_Bat-cave_' and they would simply spend time together. A week or so after the girls had settled a man named Clint Barton arrived and would come and go, sometimes with Natasha, sometimes Steve and sometimes alone. The only Avenger they had yet to meet was Thor, whose rooms they were currently using, as he either had yet to return from Asgard or had not informed his super friends if he had. Aside from Cleo, who Robin found difficult to have out of sight for too long, Robin found herself spending a lot of her time in the company of Bruce Banner.

The unassuming man had asked her if she would like him to help to her gain some control over her powers. At first she had refused thinking that, though kind, he had never experienced the kind of uncontrolled power that she had to face every waking moment. At least until she had found her way to YouTube. Avengers videos were everywhere, if there was a clip of Thor swinging his hammer or Tony in his suit it was viral, it was there that she watched the choppy clips of the Battle of New York. Different angles, varying qualities, some things were captured multiple times but there was one clip, not even a minute long, that she found of Bruce. Clips of the Hulk had been as widespread as the rest but only one video showed the transition from man to… monster. As she scrolled through videos of rage and utter destruction Robin knew she had been so very wrong.

Using JARVIS' help she found out how Bruce had become the man she knew, partly out of curiosity but mostly she didn't want to ask him any questions that might be upsetting or offensive. Once she knew the basic details of what had happened she stopped looking into it, she didn't want to snoop and thought looking too far into his past would not be well received.

When it came to telling him she had reconsidered his offer she found that she was nervous and though she tried to hide it Bruce had become very good at knowing when people knew who and what he was. To his credit he didn't mention it nor did he try to intimidate her or reassure her. Instead he took her to the Avengers training level. She wondered if he wanted her to channel her strength or see how hard she could punch if she was trying but as they walked past the training dummies and exercise machines she realised she knew nothing about the man at all. They walked a little past the swimming pool and indoor Jacuzzis until they reached a plain door. Inside was a bare room, the walls painted in cools shades of relaxing green, the floor was polished wood, soft rolled up coloured matts were piled in the corner of the room and the only other thing was an Ipod dock with speakers. She stood in the centre of the room, as Bruce quietly closed the door, and stared blankly out the window towards the New York skyline. After a moment he cleared his throat, gaining her attention, told her to grab a matt from the corner and sit down.

At first the sessions were about breathing and concentrating on oneself, getting to know every fibre within them. It seemed, however, to do very little good. She did the breathing, allowed the soft music to drift through her, and scented the aromatic incense as it wafted through the air but she could still not open a door without misshaping the handle and occasionally pulling it from its hinges if she wasn't paying close enough attention. So one day when they met in the bare room Bruce brought with him a bag. It was not obvious, at first, what was inside but Robin waited patiently as he set up the room before she asked what he had brought. She was then surprised when he gave her a stress ball. It was odd to hold something so soft and squishy after having purposely avoided touch of any kind. Robin told him this, to which he nodded, he had guessed as much. Avoiding the problem altogether had been his approach when he had first had his accident, trying hard to make sure the '_Other Guy_' never showed himself. But it never worked. There was always something that triggered him. The only way to overcome the problem was to learn the proper control.

"When you were locked in that cell," He said as gently as he could "how did you stop yourself from breaking things around you?"

"I didn't, there was nothing to break." She answered him as if it was obvious. Tony had told him that the cells were bare, literally only four walls, a ceiling, a floor and a prisoner. There was of course the vent as well but the lack of a bed and any form of waste receptacle had been noticed by the billionaire and had been mentioned when the girls were discussed.

One of the obvious side effects of the lack of furnishings had been that she had been desensitised to touch and with her new super strength she had not learned how to handle her power. So the relaxation sessions turned into '_can you hold this without breaking it_' sessions. They always started simple, stress balls, stuffed animals, and then moved on to more solid things, like rocks and books, various things that took different grips to hold them properly. As they progressed, very slowly, she started to regain a little control. At the end of every session he would bring something difficult, the first time it had been a china teacup. Unfortunately she crushed the handle when he gave it to her and when she tried to grab it to stop it from smashing on the floor she ended up smashing it in her fingers. Bruce had been unsure whether to be alarmed or fascinated that the shards had not broken her skin. Upon her reassurance that she had not felt pain or been discouraged, he started to bring fragile objects as the final item in a session. Despite her growing control she always broke the final item. He knew that a little of the self-esteem they built through the sessions was deflated after each failure but when she finally succeeded it would be all the more important.

That Friday afternoon Robin had been so pleased with herself. She had not broken the stress ball, nor crushed a rock, and had managed to turn pages in a book without ripping them… too badly and when she came to the final item of the day she was sure that it would be today that she would not shatter the glass or crumble the porcelain. Then Bruce turned around to show her what the item was.

It was an egg.

"Don't look so worried." He smiled gently as he held the egg so easily.

"I'm going to make a mess." She said reluctantly eyeing the fragile object.

* * *

Date: February 13th 2013

Location: CLASSIFIED

* * *

It had been nine months since the initial discovery of subjects 2319 and 2320, and to say that Dr Colfer was pleased with the data gathered to date would have been an understatement. The strength increase of their abilities levelled out after the first month of incarceration and afterwards the scientists under her command soon found a very smooth system that allowed them to examine the subjects without putting themselves or the facility at risk. The inclusion of the knock out chemical as a safety protocol on the doors to the cells had been a significant contribution to that fact.

Though she was initially disappointed that her team had been unable to extract or duplicate the abilities shown within the subjects they were deemed useful and would eventually be weaponised for the benefits of Hydra. Luckily, she had been given three years to experiment, and hopefully exceed, with the limits of their powers before they would be given to the '_tabula rasa_' facility and then transferred to special training where they would become great weapons for Hydra's coming out party. Whenever that would be.

For now, however, '_SHIELD_' was in the best position it had been in decades. After the 'Battle of New York', and the intervention of the Avengers, they were considered the protectors of humanity. The strongest, most '_remarkable_' people on the plant and beyond were safely in Hydra's pocket, whether they knew it or not.

This thought reminded her that Pierce would want his weekly report on the project in the next three hours. With a sigh she walked quickly her to her desk and logged onto her computer. As always she started with a general overview of their findings from the project then expanded into what new information they had gathered, and then finally she detailed her expectations for the next week as well as a schedule for the procedures that were to be performed. If he objected to anything he could inform her as such but he had not personally interfered so far, aside from the updating of reports.

After the report was fully encrypted and sent Dr Colfer leaned back in her plush office chair, As the head of the project she was given a nice glass domed office that overlooked the subject's cells and small contingent of workstations in the central viewing area a few feet away from the cells. The stations were manned 24/7 to keep notes of everything the subjects did. The team was wary of using electronic monitoring systems too close to subject 2319, she seemed to be able to absorb the electrical energy and they only wanted her to do that in controlled conditions.

She stood swiftly then walked to her usual spot in the office with the best view of both subjects. 2320 was scheduled for the '_Tank_' to see how her abilities were affected when she was completely submerged, while 2319 was left to float aimlessly in her cell awaiting her turn for the '_Tank_'. Both subjects had surprised Dr Colfer, and her team, when they were individually placed in rooms before the air was completely removed. Interestingly enough neither subject seemed to notice the lack of oxygen and continued to act as if they were simply locked in a different cell. She was curious to see if the subjects would similarly be unaffected when submerged in water.

* * *

Date: June 27th 2014

Location: Avengers Tower, New York

* * *

Cleo was floating upside down in the lavish gold and red Norse themed living rooms as she was attempting to do a crossword puzzle. She had to admit that she was in fact terrible at the puzzle as she furiously erased a wrong answer before accidentally dropping her pencil. She glanced down at the number of pencils that she had dropped and been unable to retrieve. With a shrug she pulled the last of her stash from her pocket and began again on the puzzle.

After another ten minutes of failing to complete the crossword she got frustrated and slung the infuriating paper as far from her as possible. She didn't expect the paperback book to cause a small thud and an less than impressed 'Oomf!'. Cleo looked over to see Tony walking into the room with a box in his hands.

"Well, someone floated out of the wrong side of the bed this morning." He snarked as he put the box down onto the coffee table and fell into a relaxed lounge on the plush couch. He shuffled around for a moment, getting comfortable, before he reached into a cushion crease and pulled out a pencil that had been poking him in the side. His eye brow quirked before he shrugged and started to twirl the writing implement in his fingers. Despite her previous irritation at the book Cleo couldn't help but become curious about the mysterious box sat in front of the Avenger. "Don't be shy Tinkerbell I got something I wanna show ya." He drawled as she slowly got closer. She wasn't too fussed about the nickname but her curiosity was focused on the box.

When she eventually got close enough, which took a lot of effort on her part as the floating was mostly involuntary, she reached out and opened the lid slightly to peek inside. Through the small space she had opened she could see what looked like glimmers of metal and the dull sheen of plastic but was unsure what any of it was supposed to be.

"If this is some kind of uber-genius jigsaw then I want you to know, from the bottom of my heart, that I suck at puzzles." She shrugged dispassionately and began to float away before he stood and grabbed her hand before she could fly too far away.

"First of all, from the lump on my temple I guessed the puzzle thing, secondly, it's not a puzzle." He finished, letting go of her hand and pulling the lid fully off the box. Her attention returned but when she realised he had begun to take scientific looking equipment from the box she involuntarily zoomed backwards until she was pressed to the ceiling.

"Whatever you're thinking of doing. Don't." She practically growled causing the mechanic to glance up and notice her violent reaction. "I'm not a thing you can poke to see if I glow brighter!" At that moment Tony was glad that he had left his 'Hulk-prod' back in his lab.

"Whoa. Calm down Twinkle-toes. These-" he said holding up the small devices "are not going to hurt you. I'm trying to get you some control. Maybe help you walk again. On the ground walking."

The two simply stared at each other for several quiet moments before hesitantly Cleo began to drift towards the floor.

As it turned out, Tony had spent some of his tinkering time working out possible solutions to Cleo's gravity problem. He had considered hand held thrusters -for direction-, attaching heavy weights, high gravity boots and a variation of other possible solutions. Then it occurred to him, the source of the problem was alien technology and if it was technology he could hack it.

When she was close enough he held his hand out to her and after a moment's pause she reluctantly allowed him to pull her down. As she was drawn closer she noticed him looking intently at the golden band merged to her wrist, she could practically hear the gears turning in his mind. Still holding her arm, Tony turned and reached into his box of science stuff. He rattled around through it before he found what he was looking for. When he turned back to her he had a small round metal device held in his index finger and thumb. Cleo looked at him, wary of any sort of experimentation that could be about to occur.

"This-" He said, noticing how skittish she was becoming "is a new and improved mini JARVIS chip. I am going to attach it to your little gold leech and see if we can't access whatever is turning you into a firefly." A pit of fear spiked in her stomach as flashes of the past two years surged to the forefront of her mind. The hours the White Coats had spent trying to access the power locked within the band. "We can stop at any point if you feel uncomfortable… or we could do nothing. I mean if we glued a table to the ceiling you could have tea parties up there." Tony shrugged allowing her arm to slip from his grasp and for her to float away a few inches before she suddenly grabbed his shoulder.

"You promise? You promise to stop when I say?" she asked a little erratically. It was like two side of her mind were warring against each other. One wanted to be able to trust him, to trust that he could at the very least tone down her powers, and the other side of her raged against the thought of letting anyone turn her into a lab rat again.

"Cross my heart." He said as he physically crossed his heart, a small part of him noting how he was still unused to the idea there was no longer a miniature arc reactor embedded in his chest.


	4. Divine intervention

**Divine intervention**

* * *

Date: June 29th 2014

Location: Avengers Tower, New York

* * *

Cleo was sat quietly on the ceiling watching Robin. Said cousin was sat on the edge of the couch in their lounge, the girls had been moved to guest accommodation as word had been sent that the Avenger whose room they had used was about to return, and was attempting her anti-smash exercises. Today they involved Robin gently lifting an egg out of an egg box and then placing it into the empty carton beside it without scrambling them. The majority of the exercise had been quite entertaining for Cleo as, hard as she tried, Robin had yet to transfer an egg from one box to the other without crushing it in her fingers. She could tell that Robin was getting more and more frustrated every time the shell shattered and liquid goop landed on her already spoiled lap.

Though she attempted to suppress the snicker with her hands the sound escaped her lips until she dropped all pretence and laughed at her cousin in earnest. The sharp look she earned only served as fuel on the fire of her amusement, as she giggled she lost purchase on the ceiling and began to spin aimlessly in the air. As she span she realised that Robin had snatched an unbroken egg up and held it back preparing to throw it at the glowing target Cleo had become. She managed to stifle her laughter as she attempted to move out of the line of fire before she heard the unmistakable crunch of eggshell in her cousin's too strong grip causing more chortles to fall from Cleo's lips. Then she felt the gloopy splatter hit her on the shoulder causing her to spin in the air a little faster than she would have liked. Robin managed to hit her twice more before Cleo was able to stop herself spinning in mid-air.

As Cleo span she floated higher into the air unknowingly, in her fits of laughter, that she was about to collide with the hanging lights on the ceiling. A mere fraction away from the light fixture Cleo seemed to notice and stretched her hands out in order to stop herself from wrecking another of Tony's modern, yet pretty, chandeliers. As her skin made the briefest whisper of contact with one of the illuminated bulbs the glass suddenly shattered and a clear, sharp stream of electrical energy hot from the still hot filament to her bare out stretched hands. As the energy flowed into her Cleo's glow intensified sharply before every other bulb on the fixture shattered and the flow of electricity halted. The room was silent for a split second before an unexpected and odd spell wafted past Cleo's nose.

"Fried… eggs?" she questioned almost in auditable before she twisted to look at her shoulder and back, the places Robin had managed to hit her with bits of raw egg, only to see the intensity of the energy that was flowing through her was literally frying the egg on her clothes. "…Ew…" She deadpanned.

A booming laugh stopped both girls in their tracks then, in unison, they turned to see who had walked in to witness their silliness. Stood in the doorway, literally taking up the whole opening, was a tall, very well-muscled, Adonis complete with silky blonde tresses. His blue eyes shone with amusement at their antics before he stepped further into the room and was followed by Dr Banner. Robin seemed to be more than a little embarrassed that her mentor had caught her failing the exercise he had set. The Doctor shook his head as he pulled off his glasses to shine them on a cloth from his pocket.

"Robin, Cleo, this is Thor. Thor, this is Robin and Cleo." He introduced simply, pointing to each with his glasses before he returned them to their perch on his nose. Robin shot to standing in her embarrassment and was soon followed by the found of gloopy yolk and shattered shell falling from her lap to the once clean carpet. The motion quickly caused another bout of laughter from Cleo as she watched in amusement from where she floated.

It was at this point that Thor strode forwards with purpose, stopping a small distance between the girls, he looked at them both for a time before he held his hand out towards Robin. She stared at it for several minutes unsure what he expected her to do as she had yet to form any real control of her strength. She turned to look over at Bruce for some kind of clarification but all she received was a shallow nod.

"Though short, I have spent time in your country of origin. All the humans I encountered in England would clasp my hand upon introduction, you are familiar with this?" He asked her in his attempt of a soft tone, but for one who often spoke loud enough for all to hear it didn't quite work.

"N-no, it's not that… I just- I can't-" Robin stammered nervously as she rang her hands together, absently she noted how her fingers were sticky with glair, yolk and eggshell. More importantly she had no intention of touching anyone, at least until she had some measure of control over her strength. With this in mind she took a hesitant step backwards until the backs of her legs pressed gently against the coffee table behind her. Immediately she stopped moving, wary of breaking the table and of the large man in front of her. Said man only laughed at her movements unintentionally making her feel more self-conscious than she already was.

"Have no fear little mortal, you cannot harm me." He spoke with absolute confidence but Robin still had her doubts. She had only been practicing for a couple of weeks and had yet to pass the eggshell test, which in itself made her feel even more useless. Her gaze instinctively flicked over to Cleo who had been rather quiet since Thor's arrival, but it turned out that her cousin was a little too distracted admiring the god's backside and was completely unconcerned with the little bits of burnt egg dropping from her clothes to the floor. With an irritated sigh Robin changed to looking over at Bruce who seemed a little too amused at the situation.

"It's alright Robin, he can take it." The Doctor assured her, making Robin only feel slightly better and Cleo re-tuned into the conversation to realise what was going to happen. The glowing girl was unsure whether she should feel intrigued or annoyed at the stupidity of what they wanted Robin to do. Cleo knew that if Robin caused him damaged she would not deal with it well.

Robin looked doubtfully at her mentor before she returned her focus to the hand still extended towards her. Slowly, hesitantly, she lifted her hand from her side. As she moved closer her hand trembled anxiously before it slid gently into his much larger hand. She remained absolutely still attempting not to apply any pressure to his skin but then he clasped her hand and she instinctually reciprocated. She stared at their hands gripped together but she had not crushed bone, squished muscle, as she had feared. Then she heard a grunt of discomfort and looked up to see the strain on his face, causing her to immediately release his hand and retract her own close to her chest.

"You are indeed strong little one," Thor smiled at Robin before he turned to Bruce "When you told me of their power I had not expected them to be so-"

"Ultimate? Cosmic? Itty bitty- well I don't skimp on the living space." Tony chimed as he strutted into the lounge having watched the whole thing from the entrance. "How's the hand buddy? Still good for swinging the hammer?" The mechanic asked and Cleo was unsure whether or not he was actually euphemising or not.

"I am fine." Thor responded after regaining the feeling in his fingers and flexed them just to be sure they were still in alignment. "I do not, however, understand how mortals could possess such abilities." The god of thunder gestured at the girls as he spoke, Cleo was reclined in mid-air and Robin looked to be rather upset as she sifted from one foot to the other.

"Actually we were hoping you might have some answers to that." Dr Banner said as he walked over to Robin and gently lifted her arm. She gave no resistance and was as still as possible as he pulled up her sleeve to reveal to Thor the source of their powers, the mysterious golden cuffs.

Immediately Thor stepped forward but paused just before her could make contact. "If I may?" He asked Robin to whom she nodded silently as he gently took her arm to examine the manacle.

The golden metal shone with its own internal light, beginning at the base of her wrist and stretched two and a half inches down her arm, the metal itself was incredibly thin and flexible and almost definitely melded to her skin. Almost reverently Thor examined her wrist all the way around, noticing the seamless way it had bound itself to Robin. His eyes flicked up towards Cleo and found an identical golden band on her wrist. His focus returned to the closer cuff a momently before he gently brushed his hand over the oddly cool metal. The gold shimmered and rippled in response and a moment later strange symbols rose up from the metal, just making impressions on the surface before disappearing once again. Thor knew those symbols.

And he knew what the artefacts were.

* * *

Date: March 19th 2013

Location: CLASSIFIED

* * *

Dr Colfer paced in her office overlooking the test subject's cells. Her teams had uncovered mass amounts of data from the experiments performed but it never seemed to be enough. Every time she sent off her findings to the higher ups she was told to push harder, be more invasive, find the limits and move beyond. It was becoming more and more difficult to please her bosses. The first few months of testing had been so abundantly fruitful that it was inevitable that their progress would begin to slow.

Turning sharply from her pacing Dr Colfer stared down at the myriad of workers below her. All the resources she had at her finger tips, the compound was always alive with activity, but it was not enough. She was restrained by the meagre technology at her disposal. It was all top of the line, only moments behind Stark tech, but even the famous cutting edge technology the 'genius' Avenger designed was laughably inferior to what she needed.

Her sharp rouged lips frowned severely at the thought. What she really needed was to get her hands on more advanced technology. How she wished there was a way for Hydra to get access to the doubtless incredible tech the Asguardians had at their disposal. Alas the infernal race was beyond even their reach. It was infuriating.

What made things worse was that she knew for a fact that Hydra had some advanced technology at their disposal, discovered from various 0-8-4's over the decades, but every time she put in a formal request she was denied.

A sharp bleeping distracted her from her internal tirade. With quick purposeful steps Dr Colfer pressed the blinking button on her desk.

"Yes." She said sharply.

"_Gamma team have subject 2319 ready for experiment 108."_ The tinny voice replied from a small speaker imbedded in her desk.

"Very good. I'll be there momentarily." Dr Colfer clicked off the button before she could receive a reply. Taking a moment to smooth out her grey dress suit she took a deep calming breath. No matter the limitations she would do whatever it takes. She would unlock the secrets of the golden cuffs.

Straightening her posture Dr Colder swiftly strode from her office and down to the energy lab.

* * *

Date: June 29th 2014

Location: Avengers Tower, New York

* * *

Robin and Cleo had never been to this part of the Avengers Tower before.

The girls sat inside a large domed room, covered in shiny silver plating from floor to ceiling, computers of varying sizes lined the room, each screen lit up performing some unknown task, several high security doors lead in and out of the room but the majority of them lead to other unknown parts of the tower. The centrepiece of the room was a large round glass table, the one that they were currently sat in front of, and though the glass looked completely mundane Robin was certain that with everything she had seen with the building already, there had to be something special about it to be in such a secure area of the building. Dotted around the table were several familiar faces and one or two that were recognised but certainly less familiar. The majority of the time the girls had spent in the tower they knew that more often than not the Avengers were out in the world trying to eradicate an evil spy organisation known as Hydra, the very same people that had held and experimented upon the girls for over two years.

On one of the larger computer screens a world map was illuminated and on that map was a hell of a lot of little red Hydra symbols dotted all over the globe. It made Robin feel sick that Cleo and she were in no way the only people that had been taken by these monsters. She managed to settle the bout of nausea by focusing on the little symbols that had large black crosses stamped over them, one for each base the Avengers had taken out, she simply had to ignore the fact that the eradicated bases were in the marginal.

With a physical shiver Robin ripped her attention away from the map and refocused it upon what she had been thinking about before she had noticed that particular screen, The Avengers. Obviously the ones she and Cleo were most at ease with were Dr Banner, who sat to her right while Cleo sat on her left physically strapped into her seat, and Tony Stark, who was swaggering around the room talking to JARVIS and occasionally inputting data to various computers. These two men had been around the girls the most, Banner helping Robin with control and Tony examining Cleo's cuff while simultaneously thinking of ways to get her feet firmly back on the ground.

While both men had also been assisting with the Hydra extermination when they could, the other Avengers seemed to be running at the Hydra threat incessantly. Almost as if it were personal. Of course Robin knew that Captain America, who was sat opposite her with a military rigidity, had a history with Hydra and boy was it actual _history_ between them. Robin had worked at a museum for years and had heard the gossip and legends about the WWII era, though her passions were the ancient cultures and her scholarly co-workers looked down at her for being the frivolous artsy type without a proper qualification to her name, she still had some basic knowledge.

As her mind wandered into her past Robin felt a pang of sadness jolt through her. She missed her old life, her museum, she missed sketching and designing. Everything that had been taken away from her the moment the damn cuff had latched onto her. In that split second her sadness roiled into anger and she felt the metal chair arm beneath her fingers squeeze and shape like clay, before the groaning steel caught her cousin's attention. A gentle glowing hand rested calmly on her shoulder. Russet met electric blue when Robin looked up at her cousin and was once again distracted from her train of thought when she realised that Cleo's eye colour, once sharp steel, had almost literally been electrified to a brighter, more intense shade. The alarm must have been obvious as Cleo's brow wrinkled in confusion before she gave Robin a questioning look.

"I-it's nothing. Don't worry about it." Robin mumbled, her cousin gave her a quick once over before deciding to drop it. She knew Cleo wouldn't bring it up until they were alone again, being one who valued privacy, only then would she poke and prod Robin into telling her what was troubling her. While Cleo believed whole heartedly in privacy she also believed there should be no secrets among family. Meaning Robin would not get out of explaining herself later.

In an attempt to distract herself again Robin focuses on the two remaining Avengers. Clint was sat beside Natasha dinging something on what looked like his phone. Robin knew they were former SHIELD and that as a spy he was probably doing something terribly classified. Luckily for him he had his phone on mute as she would have been a little disappointed to find out he was actually on Angry Birds and the little smirk on his face was not because he had hacked into some top level encryption but because he had gotten a perfect score once again.

Beside his was Natasha with her shapely legs propped on the table as she reclined in her chair and spoke quietly to Steve who was sat on her other side. Again Robin wasn't sure what they were talking about but she couldn't help the small smile when Steve obviously told her to put her feet down. It seemed to be a private joke between the two. Robin leaned back in her chair a little disappointed. The two made a lovely couple and she refused to identify or focus upon why it bothered her.

Opposite Robin Captain America and Black Widow were in the middle of an all too familiar conversation.

"So you didn't call her then." Natasha smirked as she took her feet off the table.

"I just don't think she's my type." Steve told his friend/constant matchmaker as he waited impatiently to find out why they had been gathered. Another three Hydra bases had been discovered and they were all sat around for some meeting. Every moment wasted was another lead on Bucky going cold.

"Ugh. Maybe you should get Tony to make you a Buffybot, I'm sure he could pull it off." She crossed her arms over and looked at Steve completely frustrated. Why was he so reluctant to date? All her efforts seemed to be wasted on the man.

"A what?" The soldier asked her, confusion clear on his handsome features.

"You didn't watch any of the DVDs I leant you." The spy rolled her eyes as she shifted in her seat.

"There were a lot and I've been busy." He defended.

"Couldn't work the DVD player, huh?" She smirked before a door on the opposite side of the room opened revealing the Avenger they had been waiting on.

Robin turned in her seat and watched as Thor strode into the room. The god spoke to Tony for a moment before patting him good naturedly on the shoulder, quite hard judging by the mechanic's face, and turned towards those gathered around the table. Tony rubbed his shoulder discreetly as he turned from the group and input something into one of the computers. Suddenly a holographic representation of the gold cuffs floated above the glass table.

"Take it away maestro." Tony uttered before he took his seat next to Dr Banner. Thor nodded grinning at Ironman before he greeted the comrades he had not seen for some time. Once the pleasantries were over seriousness overcame the god's expression.

"Robin and Cleo, you must know that though I know what it is that has imbued you with such power, my knowledge hails from tales and whispers. I know not how to unburden them from you. Do you understand?" His deep voice rumbled over the words that slowly sunk in. The girls glanced at each other before nodding the affirmative to the god. Even if he couldn't remove them maybe he knew enough for them to understand and maybe even control their powers.

"So, then, what do you know?" Bruce asked gently as he plucked his glasses from his face and cleaned them with a cloth from his pocket.

"Not as much as I would have hoped." Thor replied a little disappointed at his own lack of knowledge. "But I know enough.

"They are called the Nega-Bands. Weapons of great power created by the leader of a race named the Kree. The Supreme Intelligence. They were gifted to one of their greatest warriors named Mar-Vell. But he was lost long ago, even we Asguardians knew not where he was, and to think, he must have perished on Midguard for them to be in your possession now." He paused for a moment to allow the knowledge to sink in before he continued. "The metal man tells me that these weapons bonded with you when the portal opened over New York. The invading force were the Chitauri, creatures that are so similar to the Skrull race, the bands sensed their presence on Earth-"

"Why?" Robin couldn't help but squeak, even she seemed surprised that she had voiced her question aloud.

"The Kree and Skrull have warred for ages beyond count." The god of thunder explained as he crossed his large arms over his chest. "Their attachment does not bode well for you," Her continued as he eyes the almost innocently gleaming bands "These weapons were forged for the warriors of the Kree. They serve to augment their power. It would seem, from what I have witnessed, that the weapons have attempted to compensate for the difference in race. I believe the imbalance and intensification of the Nega-Bands, shared between human mortals, is why you lack control."

"Not just him, the three of us" Tony gestured to Bruce, Thor and himself "came up with the theory. Thor just added in the historical notes and really excels at projecting his voice. Seriously, you should consider public speaking." He cut in, just about to meander off topic.

"So, what does this mean? Because they aren't this type of alien they can't control their power." Steve asked attempting to understand what this meant for the girls they had only just rescued.

"Nay, on Asgard we have a way of suppressing power to control dangerous beings."

"Like your psycho brother." Tony piped in almost instinctively.

"…Aye." Thor deadpanned, clearly trying to contain his impatience. "I have the basic design so that your mortal mind can comprehend its complexity and build it for them." He stated nonchalantly handing Tony a shining scroll with fluctuating diagrams, the mechanic was preparing a retort before he was interrupted.

"Are you saying you can get rid of them?" Cleo chimed in. "The gloating and the floating."

"Not quite, little aurora. They will suppress, but are not potent enough to dispel your powers completely." The Asguardian told her gently as her face fell in disappointment.

"According to these very simple, and kinda trippy, designs there are levels of suppression. So you can dial it down and once you figure out how to not suck at superpowers ramp it up a notch and so on until you got it all down." Stark spoke aloud but it seemed more like he was talking it over to himself and how he could implement the plans presented.

"Almost normal." Robin whispered to herself as a small smile crept across her lips before she looked up at her cousin and said a little louder. "Almost normal is good."


	5. Get it done

**Get it done**

* * *

Date: July 3rd 2014

Location: Tony's Lab, Avengers Tower

* * *

Bored. She was so bored. Cleo wondered if this was the most bored anyone had ever been in the history of the universe.

As usual she was floating in a reclined position a little below the ceiling. Robin was busy trying to find some semblance of control of her strength with the exercises Dr Banner gave her. Which was why she was nonchalantly floating in Tony's lab, waiting for him to finish making the designs for their '_Nega-Bands'_ or whatever they were called. The problem was that he had been working on them for days and she wasn't sure how long they were going to take. She had no skill in mechanics or anything like that, so it wasn't like she could be on any real use to Tony, but the truth was that if she wasn't in the lab she would probably be alone in her rooms.

"Right, ya got all that JARVIS?" said mechanic asked aloud as he leaned back in his plush office chair and started to toss a stress ball from one hand to the other.

"_Yes sir, approximated completion time 16 hours._" The familiar AI responded.

"Awesome. You hear that Sparky?" Stark looked up at Cleo with a triumphant smirk. "In sixteen hours you and your cousin get your training wheels."

"You seem awfully chipper. Is it 'cause you're getting rid of me or 'cause you got to play with alien tech?" She asked curiously as she slowly began to float upside down. There was no sad note or angry quiver in her voice so Tony answered honestly.

"Little of both," He shrugged as he placed the stress ball on his desk and stood from his chair "but the main reason? Same as Bruce. You and Robin are so afraid of your powers getting out of control that actually enjoying being a superhero doesn't occur to you. I mean come on. You. Are. Flying!" He gestured towards her with both hands as she considered his words. He had a point. Years ago, before Robin had left for America, they had joked about superpowers and longed to be special. It seemed a little of a '_be careful what you wish for_' kind of thing. But who actually thinks that idle thoughts would come to fruition.

"You can fly too, you just seem to be a bit better at it than me." Cleo responded as she bobbed in the air.

Iron man scoffed. "Man, it's like déjà vu. I can control it because I learned how, and, in just under sixteen hours you can learn too." He smirked as he sat back down on his chair and opened another file on his screen marked 'ULTRON'. "Also, when you get a handle on your flying, you know forwards backwards up down, we are having the race to end all races."

* * *

Date: July 3rd 2014

Location: Bruce's Meditation Room, Avengers Tower

* * *

Gentle soothing music floated through the air.

Soft breaths moving in and out.

Robin cracked an eye open to look at Bruce who was sat cross-legged opposite her. She disliked the meditations he suggested. He said he did them anyway and if she joined in it may help her gain some control. All it really did was make her realise she didn't have the patience of meditation.

"You gave up faster than usual today." The scientist commented without opening his eyes to look at her.

"Yeah… sorry." Caught out she automatically raked her hand through her hair before heaving a large sigh. "Being still like this… I used to be good at it, before-" She paused as she tried to repress the memories of the last two years. "I used to sit and read for hours. Now, I just feel like I need to be moving all the time." Robin stood as she spoke and began to pace the hard wood floor of the small room.

"Is this pent up energy or more like 'fight or flight' instincts?" He asked having opened his eyes and observed her closely. She paused notably uncomfortable with his close attention of her reactions. It reminded her of being in her cell.

Always watched. Analysed. Studied.

"I dunno, is there a difference?" Nervously she twisted her fingers together, fidgeting, as she continued to pace. The doctor shrugged, he was always the first to remind everyone he wasn't a phycologist but sometimes he knew the right things to say.

"Just try to relax, meditation isn't for everyone and I'm pretty sure I said you didn't have to do it. It's one of the things that work for me." Bruce spoke calmly as he felt the subtle vibrations in the floor from her pacing. She wasn't paying attention to the strength of her steps and he worried she might leave pretty sizable dents… again.

"Why do I need to keep doing this? Tony is working on those things that will dial down the power. I'll be able to do normal things without thinking about it." Robin ranted more to herself than to Bruce, she wanted to do things she used to take for granted. Reading her favourite book. Sketching. Press the damn buttons on a TV remote.

"Yes, but the more power they suppress the faster they will deteriorate. They aren't a permanent solution. Learning control is still important. Then, maybe, one day you and Cleo won't need them." Bruce's logic only seemed to add to her distress.

"Even if they burn out Tony can just make more right?" Her pacing stopped as she looked at Bruce still sat calmly on the floor.

"True, but they do cost money to produce and I know that he won't just let you use them to hide from your strength. If anything he would just not let you use them at all." Slowly Banner stood up and turned off the music from his Ipod, it was clear they weren't going to get anything more from the session and he was sure the music wasn't calming her at all.

"Oh come on…" Robin groaned as she returned to pacing the length of the room.

"It's true, he hasn't got any superpowers and I think he has a thing against people not using the things that make them special. Trust me, I learned the hard way." His thoughts returned to the multiple occasions Tony had literally poked and prodded him into letting the Other Guy out. He winced as he saw the emotions freely play across Robins face.

Panic. Anger. Fear. Frustration. Panic again. Acceptance. The pacing stopped and she turned sharply to face him directly.

"Fine. But I can't do the meditating thing." She demanded making him chuckle. Robin bristled at his clear amusement at her expense but after a moment it dawned on her that she was acting like a child. A small smile creased her lips as she raked her hand through her hair. The two packed away what little they had been using for the session and headed for the door.

"Do you want to try the-"

"If I have to even look at another egg I will go Hulk on you."

"…That's not funny."

"It is a little funny."

* * *

Date: July 3rd 2014

Location: Cleo and Robin's Living Room, Avengers Tower

* * *

Cleo had been thinking. It had been something she had been thinking about for the last month or so. Since she had been set free, since they had been set free, all she could think about was what they had been through. At the hands of Hydra, the White Coats and the Suits, they had been tortured and experimented upon… but there was something she had not told Robin, or anyone since their escape.

Unlike Robin Cleo was not so resilient. Her cousin had so much strength, but more than that her very skin resonated that power and so the experimentation could not be as invasive as the White Coats had wanted. Cleo, however, was not so fortunate. She could glow and she could float around a room but her skin could also be cut and stitched.

They had kept her lucid while they had attempted to remove the band from her wrist. She didn't know why they couldn't remove it but the hours they had spent trying to were burned into her memories. It was one of the few reasons she was glad she no longer felt the need to sleep. Every time she closed her eyes she was back on the operating table.

Strapped down. Cold. Powerless.

Now that she was free and the possibility of control was in sight, her mind kept circling around one thing;

Vengeance.

Cleo knew that the Avengers were working tirelessly to rid the world of the Hydra menace and she wanted to be a part of it. She wanted to stop them from hurting people. The way Robin had been hurt. The way she had been hurt. Cleo wanted them to know the suffering they inflicted.

Justice. Revenge. She didn't care about labelling it. She just wanted to get it done.

"Cleo? Are you okay?" Robin's voice rang through the air as she entered the room. Cleo hadn't heard her enter but as the doors were automated and controlled by JARVIS she shouldn't have been surprised. "You looked like you were sucking on a lemon. What's up?" Her cousin asked concerned as she gingerly sat on their couch.

"Nothing, just… thinking." She said distantly. Cleo knew Robin, that she had been happy with her life in America at the museum. Now that she had the chance Cleo was sure her cousin would opt for the easy path, to choose a life of normalcy.

"Liar." Robin accused as she lazily reclined on the couch. "If you are gunna lie to me at least be creative about it."

"I'm not lying. I'm just not telling you what I'm thinking." Cleo shrugged as she floated a little further away. She didn't want to share her dark thoughts with Robin, it was obvious she would disagree.

"Aw come on. What's up?" Robin asked as she sat up and focused more intently on Cleo.

"Robin… can we not." The glowing girl sighed as she floated closer to the window to look at the cityscape below.

"Cleo." Robin mimicked teasingly "If we don't do this now, you know I'll just keep asking and asking and asking and asking…" She continued over and over, knowing it would get a rise out of Cleo.

"Just, stop that." She snapped weakly, not taking her gaze from the window. Cleo had no desire to argue but she also knew that now Robin knew something was bothering her, she wouldn't stop. Not until she figured out how to resolve the problem. That or blatantly ignore it until it went away. Her cousin was a funny sort, depending on her mood.

"Nope. Tell me now, what's the matter?" Robin persisted as she stood up and walked purposefully towards the window. As gently as she could Robin grabbed Cleo's hand and turned her so they faced each other. Cleo looked down at Robin angrily, she didn't like being manhandled and she didn't like being forced into anything. She had had enough of both for the last two years. She tried to pull away but even though Robin held her gently she could not break the hold.

"What do you think the problem is?!" Cleo snapped still trying to wrench her arm from its vice. "Hydra!"

"Hydra?!" Robin exclaimed, confused she released her grip enough for Cleo to pull away. "But… We're safe from them. They can't hurt us here. We got away." She babbled as if she was reassuring herself more than anything else.

"How do you know?!" Her sharp tone caught Robin's attention as she looked lost up at her floating cousin. "How do you know that we're safe? That they can protect us?"

"B…because…" Her voice waivered as she started to back away, Cleo could see the pain clear as day in her face but now that they had started this talk… they had to finish it.

"Because they told you? Robin, it's not just us. They took other people, probably are doing it right now and are probably doing far worse things than we can imagine." The words tasted bitter as she spoke them but Robin had been right, she needed to vent this out. "We have the power to help destroy Hydra! They tried to take it from us, but we need to use it against them!"

"And what power do you have to stop them?!" Robin all but yelled at her friend as anger began to seep into her fear and confusion. "What are you going to do? Glow at them? Float in their general direction?!"

"NO!" Cleo yelled as she felt anger surge within her. It had been so long since she had felt this burning rage within her. Ever since Hydra all she felt was fear, like a cornered animal, but now she felt through the fear. Her anger was fuelled with it. The Nega-band on her wrist hummed with power as her glow brightened intensely.

"Cleo?" Robin asked as she brought her arms over her eyes, blinded by the light emanating from Cleo.

She didn't understand, this had never happened before, Cleo felt everything building. Her skin crackled with energy before suddenly the glow around her intensified into a glowing white beam. It lashed out straight at Robin throwing her backwards, not just off her feet but through the wall behind her and into the open air.

* * *

Date: July 3rd 2014

Location: Outer Front Entrance, Avengers Tower

* * *

"_Right, are we ready? Okay._

_Hello, this is Jenny on the HeroWatch podcast outside of the famous Avengers Tower! Moments ago Iron Man descended from the skies and landed on the top of the Avengers Tower. At this point it is unclear what he had been doing or where he has been but stay with us and we will bring you the latest Hero gossip as it develops. _

_Don't forget to follow us on Twitt- wait. Something's happening! It looks like some kind of light! Look! Someone's just crashed through that window! _

_Glass is raining down from one of the top windows and… yes, it looks like someone is falling. Oh, God!_

_Move! Get out the way!_

_Oh my… If you can hear this, someone has just crashed into the middle of the street. But the ground around us quaked and whoever fell made a large crater when they landed!_

_I'll try and get a closer look. Yes, someone's in there! She's moving! She doesn't even seem hurt!_

_Could this be a new Avenger in training?!_

_Look! It's Captain America and Iron Man! Excuse me? Can we please get a statement from you? Is she human? Is she a new Avenger? What's her name?"_

"_Lady, I think the question you should be asking is 'Tony you are in such great shape, do you work out?' The answer is no, I'm just naturally this awesome."_

"_No! Wait! Captain America has just picked her up and the three of them are heading inside. THE WORLD HAS A RIGHT TO KNOW!_

_You heard it here first folks, a new Avenger might just be on the way. The video will be posted on our YouTube channel and let us know your theories. Who is this mysterious woman? And what should her code-name be? Send us your thoughts on Twitter and Facebook!"_

* * *

Date: July 3rd 2014

Location: Tony's Lab, Avengers Tower

* * *

Robin was confused. She had just been talking to Cleo and now… She stiffened immediately when she realised she was being carried by Captain America. They had been arguing… Cleo had… Robin wasn't sure what had happened but knew it wasn't Cleo's fault. After a moment she realised Steve and Tony were talking to each other as they entered Tony's lab. Bruce was stood by the door way and looked as if he had just finished talking to Cleo, who was floating in the centre on the room.

"Robin! Oh my- Are you okay? I'm so sorry. I don't-" Cleo was floating in front of them, her glow was flickering slightly and Robin wondered absently if the blast had drained her batteries a little.

"It's okay Cleo, you didn't know." She assured her as Steve finally let her down onto the ground.

"Didn't know what? What the hell happened up there?!" Tony finally asked as he looked at them critically.

"That's a good question." Steve intoned as he crossed his arms across his chest.

"I- We… we were arguing. Cleo wants to help you guys fight Hydra but I was like 'what are you gunna do float at them' and then she got kinda pissed. I'm pretty sure she shot me with lightning or something." Robin explained the best she could while Cleo stayed guiltily quiet.

"Lightning?" The mechanic asked as he processed the new information, he seemed excited.

"Yeah, her glowing kinda got brighter, really bright, and then BOOM! Out the window." She explained with large hand gestures to emphasise her words. Silently Steve noted that despite the incredibly long fall she had not a scratch on her and moved with ease.

"Interesting. If you want we can look into it. Help you learn to control it." Tony pulled out some kind of tablet and as he spoke he pressed a multitude of buttons.

"Yeah, I would appreciate that." Cleo finally spoke up as she looked at her cousin.

"Great, now that we are all here in one piece. I have the tech ready." Tony said brightly as he put his tablet down on one of his workbenches and picked up two small boxes. He walked over to Robin and began to attach it to her glowing band. After some bleeps and whirrs the device came alive and wired itself into the alien gold. Immediately Robin felt a difference, she couldn't quiet place it but she felt… just different. Tony handed her a small spanner that had been in one of his toolboxes. The metal squished like butter in her grasp. Tony cursed under his breath as he pulled out a screwdriver and altered the settings on her wrist.

"Okay, try it now." The genius handed her a stale coffee cup from the table, she took it gingerly and stared at it in disbelief.

"I… I did it!" Robin smiled as she held the cool mug in her hands. There were some fine cracks under her finger tips but it hadn't shattered immediately and it had been so long since she had been able to do anything herself.

"Your turn Twinkle-toes." Tony turned to Cleo triumphantly. She reached out towards him and he gently pulled her over to him. As had the other the device embedded itself in her glowing band. Her glow flickered and dimmed before she unceremoniously flopped onto the workbench.

"Woah, hello gravity." Cleo laughed as she patted the workbench she was sat upon. She didn't immediately notice she hovered an inch or so above the surface but it was the closest she had been to sitting without restraints.

"How long will it last?" Steve asked as he eyed the devices flashing on their wrists.

"On full suppression… a couple a months." Tony shrugged as he picked his tablet back up and input some new notes about the devices.

"So?" Robin looked up at them before gently placing the coffee cup on the workbench.

"So, keep working on control and every so often we reduce the suppression until you guys don't need them anymore." The millionaire shrugged as he continued to press buttons on his tablet.

"Does… does this mean we can leave the tower now?" Cleo asked hopeful. She didn't want to be cooped up anymore and now her glow was a little more subtle and she was flying around the place, it should be possible to leave.

"What are you Rapunzel? Yeah, you guys aren't prisoners." Tony laughed without taking his eyes from what he was doing. Now that the suppression devices were finished he could focus his attention on other projects.

"But you shouldn't go alone. Not while Hydra has the advantage." Steve reminded them, the girls had been captured once for their abilities and given the chance, there was no doubt in his mind that Hydra would try again.

"Well volunteered Cap, you get chaperone duty." Iron Man smirked.

"What?" Steve asked confused. He was too busy taking down Hydra and they knew it.

"Bruce and I did our time. Besides you were the one that found them. Pull your weight Pops." Stark sniped as he picked up one of the many half full cups of coffee from his workbench, he took a sip and grimaced when he realised it was cold.

"What Tony means," Bruce interrupted giving Tony a meaningful look "is that you have spent the last few months running yourself ragged against Hydra. Take some down time." Banner insisted as his lips quirked at Tony unceremoniously plonking the cold coffee down and checking to see if any of the others were still hot.

"And what better way to relax than with a couple of super powered chicks?!" Tony grinned as he found one and brought the warm mug to his lips.

"Woah, you guys have helped us enough. I for one don't want to be a burden on any of you. Plus now I am less likely to smash things on contact, I think we can handle popping out to the shops on our own." Robin reasoned, not wanting to force any of them into looking after her. They were superheroes for heaven's sake and they clearly had more important things to be spending their time one.

"It's not you two. Bucky is still out there, I need to find him, and Hydra need to pay for what they've done. To Bucky, to you two and to all the other people whose lives they've ruined." Steve told them resolutely.

"Steve, I understand that but you can't spend every waking moment doing this. You need to catch your breath." Bruce responded gently. Even a super soldier needed to take a break and if a crisis did arise, as they tend to around the Avengers, they couldn't let him burn himself out.

"Alright," He finally conceded "I just can't give up on this." For a moment it looked like Tony was going to make a comment but before he could Bruce had steered Steve out of the lab and they started talking about other concerns. Robin stared after them for a little while before she turned to her previously quiet cousin.

"Hey Cleo, wanna head back up to the room seeing as you can walk now?" She smiled as she headed for the door. Cleo matched her smile as she gently pushed herself off the workbench and stood up for the first time in years. Her step faltered slightly before Robin took her arm to steady her and together they walked out of the lab. Cleo's steps a little lighter than Robin's but still on the ground.

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**Hope you enjoyed the new chapter!**

**Please R&amp;R so I know what you think and how you think it could go :3**

**Thanks for reading,**

**See ya next chapter!**


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